Blood Beast from Outer Space (1965)

Mutant humanoids from outer space kidnap young Earth females in order to interbreed and save their species from extinction.

Director:

John Gilling

Writers:

Jim O'Connolly (screenplay), Frank Crisp (from the novel by)

Stars:

John Saxon, Maurice Denham, Patricia Haines

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Saxon	...	Dr. Jack Costain
Maurice Denham	...	Dr. Morley
Patricia Haines	...	Ann Barlow
Alfred Burke	...	Detective Supt. Hartley
Warren Mitchell	...	Reg Lilburn
Stanley Meadows	...	Det. Tom Grant
Aubrey Morris	...	Thorburn
Ballard Berkeley	...	Cmdr. Savage
Marianne Stone	...	Madge Lilburn
Geoffrey Lumsden	...	Col. Davy
Barbara French	...	Joyce Malone
Tony Wager	...	Pvt. Higgins (as Anthony Wager)
David Gregory	...	Pvt. Jones
Douglas Livingstone	...	2nd R / T Soldier
Tom Gill	...	Police Commissioner's Secretary

Storyline

The inhabitants of Ganymede need to find mates from another world or they will become extinct. They soon discover a suitable breeding stock amongst the females of planet Earth.

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Plot Keywords:

london england | psychotronic film | mauling | strangulation | outer space | 

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Taglines:

UFO's Invade Earth!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

November 1966 (USA)

Also Known As:

Blood Beast from Outer Space

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Studios Road, Shepperton, Middlesex, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Armitage Film Productions Ltd., Harris Associates, New Art Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (colourised version) Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

UK prints of the film feature Alan Havens version of the hit instrumental "Image" as its theme.

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Goofs

In the Colorized version, two characters watch a TV news broadcast in colour; colour TV didn't start in the UK until 1967, two years after Blood Beast from Outer Space was released.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Ann Barlow: Dr. Morley?
Dr. Morley: Yes?
Ann Barlow: Come and have a look at this. That's over a hundred miles up, coming in from space.
Dr. Morley: Well, what's the speed?
Ann Barlow: Over ten thousand miles an hour.

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Alternate Versions

The original US release replaced the instrumental theme played under the opening credits with a vocal. There were also a few edits, mainly with regard to the topless pictures in "Bikini Girl" magazine.

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Connections

Featured in Aweful Movies with Deadly Earnest: The Night Caller (1970)

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Soundtracks

Title Music
IMAGE'
by Joe Glenn, Larry Greene, Bob Sande

User Reviews

THE NIGHT CALLER (John Gilling, 1965) **1/2

Low-key but intriguing and generally effective variation on the alien invasion theme (though the script is far inferior to the Quatermass archetype); as a matter of fact, the police procedural tends to be more engaging than the high-falutin' scientific theorizing! Unfortunately, too, some of the dialogue is unintelligible due to the heavy British accents (but, then, the version I watched was accompanied by subtitles in Italian!).

The cast features several familiar British faces (Maurice Denham, John Carson, Jack Watson, etc.); still, as with many low-budget horror films of its era, the lead role was given to an American actor: in this case, John Saxon - who's pretty adequate under the circumstances, with a blonde Patricia Haines (whom I recently saw in the awful VIRGIN WITCH [1972]) as his female co-star. Aubrey Morris, however, is memorable as the scurrilous editor of a 'girlie' magazine - which is used as bait for the alien's female victims (who, as is often the case, has descended to Earth because his own planet has reached saturation point). This element gives way to some typically dry British humor (especially the awkward interrogation of one of the missing girl's simple but cantankerous parents)...but Ballard Berkeley's belated introduction as the Commander steering the operations engaged in the alien's capture can't be taken seriously - in view of his regular appearance as the befuddled Major in the classic TV comedy series FAWLTY TOWERS (1975-79), devised by and starring Monty Python's John Cleese!!

With the imposing figure of the alien generally shown lurking in the shadows or hidden behind heavy clothing and a mask (shades of the giallo subgenre?), its menace is evoked through the creature's adoption of a mellifluous yet sinister 'human' voice; that said, the make-up effects shown intermittently are surprisingly subtle. Even so, the best thing about the film is certainly Stephen Dade's chiaroscuro photography - utilizing some odd angles, particularly during the alien manhunt, obviously inspired by THE THIRD MAN (1949)! The rather uneventful cautionary finale, then, is reminiscent of THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951).